Portman's Dance Class
by Sylvah Tigah
Summary: Buckley said it. "He's in a dance class, Tom." I've made him an honest man. Luna Thorn was the newbie, a klutz who could barely walk straight, much less skate. She does however dance, and she becomes fast friends with "Deanie-bean" "Spazzy-dear" and her


Portman's Dance Class

(a/n:  I couldn't resist .  Oh well.  I think it'll be cute!  I don't own the mighty ducks . . .but I would give just about anything to own them.  Aren't they just sooo cuuute?!  Lmao.  Apologies for my hyperactivity.  This really will be more romance than humour; I just thought the title was entertaining.  Please read and review.  Above all:  enjoy.)

Chapter One:  
Luna appears.

Self-named "Luna" Thorn braced herself for a lecture that would last the duration of the ride to Eden Hall, but it did not come.   In fact, the entire trip was eerily quiet, and that unnerved Luna more than any lecture that could be given ever could.  She was used to her parents being disappointed and upset in her, and both liked to express the fact when it come to pass.  But this painful silence was slowly driving Luna past her last nerve.

"I'll miss you guys."  She murmured.  More to fill silence than to express her feelings, but her parents answered in kind, politely, which just goes to show you how awkward things really were.  Parents are not often 'polite' to their kids.  In Luna's case, it was beyond abnormality, and headed deep into 'sci-fi'.  Mr. and Mrs. Thorn would just love that.  

The pair hated anything and everything that had anything to do with anything the least bit out of the ordinary.  They prided themselves on being completely average, and that's why they were sending their daughter to Eden Hall.  Because she was anything but 'normal.'  And Luna prided herself on that; which lead to completely different complications.  

Grabbing her two shoulder bags, each decorated with stitch work of dragons and various otherworldly symbols that confused Luna's parents.  Luna wished she * was * from the otherworld.  It would make life . . .well . . .livable.  "G'bye Mom, Dad."  She clambered out of the car.

"Write us when you're settled, Victoria Abigail Thorn."  Perhaps the whole name might sound endearing to some people, to Luna it was worse than a slap across the face.  If her parents were that kind of people, that's what it would have been.  A slap across the face.  "We'll see you at Christmas time, so long as we're not out on business.  You know how these things are, Victoria."

"Yeah, Dad, gotcha."  Luna answered knowing she wouldn't see her parents until the next summer, and she headed towards the labeled front office of Eden Hall, knowing it would indeed be a long time before she saw either of them again.  "Tell Jewel that I'll miss her."

"Of course, I'm sure she'll need to hear that."  Mrs. Susan Thorn answered.  Pride in her voice.  Luna would've bet her life on the fact that her parents liked Jewel Clement more than they liked her.  And she'd probably win the bet, too.  

Without another word, Luna headed inside, and while she did so, she turned her thoughts inward.  Eden Hall would probably be much like the school she'd just left.  It wasn't a matter of becoming what others liked, but a matter of finding those like her.  Luna was a deep thinker, barely paying attention to anything as she sped along.  Doing things like this can obviously lead to problems.  At her last school, Luna was so used to the flow of traffic that she was shocked to a shout when someone walked into her.

"Hey!"  She gasped.  Luna gaped when the person she'd ran into helped her up, without her assistance in the least.  He just yanked her up by her hands.  He grinned at her stupefied expression.  "Sorry about that."

"I was the one off in Tim-Land."  She answered, and received a confused look.  "Oh, right.  I'm not in Kansas anymore.  Sorry, Toto.  I just moved here," Luna punctuated her words by holding out a hand for him to shake as she continued, "The name's Luna Thorn, and I've been here for about two minutes, twenty-seven seconds.  Tim's a friend of mine from back home.  He'd always go off into lala-land.  It was later renamed because he took permanent residence there, and it was the least we could do."

"Ah."  Replied her helper-upper.  "So, why did you come here two weeks into the semester?"

"My house burned down a couple weeks ago.  My precious cat, Artemis, died.  Him, and my parents.  I was sent to the loony bin because I kept talking to my cat.  Took 'em about a week to figure out it was just because I hated my parents.  Let me go after that.  Nothing they could do.  Don't look at me like that, I don't have to love 'em just because they gave birth to me.  I was a mistake anyway."

"Really?"  He returned with disbelief and sympathy buried in his voice, as he ran a hand through his longish curly black hair.

"No."  Luna replied easily.  "I went to a year-round school last year.  I let out last week.  Some summer vacation, right?  Oh, well.  It 'couldn't be helped' according to my mum and dad.  They needed to get me out of their hair, and this place is as good as any."

"That one makes sense."  The jock replied, undaunted; with a wide grin on his tanned face.

"Then just forget the second one.  I'll go with the first.  Thanks, much."  Luna mirrored his grin, and adjusted the heavier of her two duffle bags.  For being as completely tiny as she was, it was a miracle she managed to stand after falling.

"Want some help?"

"Uhm . . .well, I don't want to keep you.  You were kinda running somewhere."

"Don't worry about it."  He answered, "I'm always late everywhere, no one'll worry.  Besides, now I have an excuse for being late.  If anyone asks, we've been talking for . . ." He drifted off and checked his watch.  "Almost twenty minutes, now.  Time flies."

"So, Toto.  Got a name that doesn't come from the movies."  Luna questioned, hefting her bag over to his offered hand.  He easily pulled it onto his shoulder.  Then again it was the lighter of the two.  Luna wouldn't trust just anyone with the other.

"Portman.  Dean Portman, but no one calls me Dean."  He answered, grinning again.

"Why not?"  Luna replied.

"'Cause my name is Dean."  He snorted in reply.  "Well, that and I'm on the hockey team.  Sports, you know.  Last names are on the jerseys, discounting Fulton's.  A good half of refer to each other with last names."

"Dean isn't worse than Victoria Abigail so don't expect sympathy from me."  Luna answered shortly, and began trekking again towards the dean's office, where she'd been directed to go by her parents.

"I thought you said your name is Luna."  Portman answered with an eyebrow cocked.

"Luna is my name.  It's just not what my parents call me."  Luna shrugged and knocked on the door looming before her, the name "Dean Buckley" shining blindingly at her.

"Well, here's your bag.  I'll catch you later.  And one more thing."  He paused as the doorknob turned.  "We're not ants, we're not like ants, we don't even _like_ ants, but the principal sure is a queen."  The muscular jock jogged away before Luna questioned what he meant, but several moments later, during a speech in which she was positive the dean was trying to bore her to death with, she understood and had to hold back a fit of giggles.

***

Wandering aimlessly after the headmaster let her, Luna contented herself with finding her dorm room with a laminated map in hand.  She was told that her roommate's name was Linda Chavez.  Yay.  Linda.  Even her name was preppy.  Preppy meant yet another person that her parents would love that wouldn't understand her in the least.  Okay, Jewel was an exception to that rule, but there was no point in Luna hoping for a miracle that there'd be another one.

Principal Buckley had called her Victoria.  Despite the several times that she'd corrected him, he insisted to overlook that and call her by her given name anyway.  The man was as infuriating as he was oblivious.  Not necessarily a good thing.  Definitely not in the case of Dean Buckley.

He was definitely annoying.  And he wanted to know if she played a sport.  He carried on about hockey for a while before heading into a speech that Luna was positive he'd given many times before.  About ants.  He wanted to know if she could play hockey.  The man didn't seem particularly pleased with her admittance in her inability to skate.  She decided telling him that she was a total klutz ninety-seven percent of the time (pardoning only when she was performing her gymnastics:  in which time, she was still klutzing out more than not) wouldn't be the best idea to start off with.  She kept it to herself. 

Upon finding that her map was upside-down, though, Luna mentally cursed herself for not asking for directions anyway.  She couldn't even read a road map, and this didn't even have words rightside up for her to follow.  Numbers and letters were facing every which way, and none of them seemed to help.  Apparently she looked as perplexed as she felt.

"Need some help?"  A voice surprised her into jumping around.  Behind her stood a rather cute boy with longish mahogany hair and soft, dark blue eyes.  He wore a red and white letter jacket.  Luna blushed and nodded, then thrust the map into his hands.

"Where am I?"  She queried, pointing towards her destination with a perfectly painted blue-green nail.  "I'm going there.  Room 352."

"Three-fifty-two."  He repeated, and looked up, noting where they were on the map.  "Well, from here, you wanna head back the way you came.  Two corridors down, you should turn to the left, and then take your first right from there, and then you can follow the room numbers, they go down, not up.  You new?"

"Yeah."  Luna answered, her gaze fixed on the map, mentally following his directions on it.  It was easy, now, to see exactly where she'd gone wrong.  From the beginning.  Obviously.  When she held her map upside-down.  "I just got here today.  I start classes tomorrow, too.  I'm a sophomore."

"Cool, I'm a senior.  I'll see you around, my name's Richard Riley.  Most everyone calls me Riley, though."

"Another jock, then."  Luna smiled mildly.  "Does anyone go by their first name in this school, or should I just have everyone call me Thorn?"

"Thorn?  God, no.  That makes you sound like . . .I dunno.  A gay rebel or something."  Riley snorted, and Luna grinned at the bad joke that she couldn't improve on.

"That's Ms. lesbian rebel to you."  She replied, placing her balled fists on her hips.  Riley chuckled again.  "Or just Luna.  Either way."  She shrugged her slender shoulders once.  "Well, thanks for the direction.  I'd best go before I get turned around again."

"See ya."  Riley answered, and started to jog off.

"Ah, two people I've made late in a day.  I'm sure making an entrance."  Luna mumbled to herself, still grinning as she headed towards her dorm room after an about-face.  Running into Riley really was a blessing, because had she not; the poor girl would've been wandering around all day until an equally kind individual offered her a helping hand.

Linda wasn't in when Luna made it to her room, but Luna wasn't too upset, other than to find that her roomie was a complete neat freak, and they'd already had clashing interests before they'd even met.  Sighing in defeat, she lugged her two bags and dropped one on the unoccupied, unmade bed.  The other, the heavier, she very carefully placed onto the floor, and knelt beside it.  Neat freak roomie or not, Luna wasn't going to let any of her prized possessions be left in the dark.  

Meticulously, Luna began removing the newspaper wrapped figurines and other decorations out of the duffle bag.  On the empty bedside table, she immediately placed a lava lamp with black liquid and purple "lava", which was heavily decorated with stars and other celestial objects; and an alarm clock/radio which was a dragon wrapped around the face of the clock.  All of the buttons were small crystals, which were plastic that looked amazingly real.

Luna placed her dark green laptop on the desk that was to be hers (she guessed as much because it was placed at the end of her bed, and Linda had one of her own) and left it closed, then surrounded it with pictures of her friends, most in frames of otherworldly quality.  She placed another lamp, this one silver and of a more regular variety, and directed the bulb towards her computer.  There was, almost immediately, almost no spare room on half the desk.  The other she left clear.  Returning to her bag, she began to pile out masses of her books.  Ranging from "Ellen Degeneres:  My point, and I do have one" to "Stephen King's It" to "The Gates of Sleep."  From comedy, to horror, to fantasy, mostly paper backs, Luna removed her favorite, most irreplaceable books and set up a bookshelf on the emptier side of her desk, holding the books upright with stone figurines of gryphons.

They were a gift from her friend 'Taru, who was a Japanese girl who became fast and best friends with Luna.  Rubbing over the smooth stone with a thumb, Luna felt a wave of homesickness sweep over her.  She'd almost forgotten that getting away from her parents also meant getting away from the only people she felt were her family.  The next-to-last thing that she pulled out of the magic duffle bag that held many wonders was a set of four notebooks.  Two of which were full, one was half full, and the last was a quarter full, but only of notes for the other three.  She was working on a novel.

The final "removal" was a glasses case, holding the wire-rimmed oval glasses that Luna never wanted to wear, but was forced to whenever she was in a class.  She personally believed that some stupid shmuck just designed blackboards far too far away from the students, and that the glasses were the worst mistake ever created, and that her mother was insane for thinking she'd wear them without strict supervision.  From her.

"Ooh!  You're here."  A girl spoke up, obviously Linda.  She dumped her backpack on the floor, uncaring of exactly where it landed, an action that confused Luna.  It completely went against how completely neat Linda's things were.  Her shock was easily readable.  "Oh, please."  Linda nearly snorted.  "Inspections for your 'living conditions.'  I had to clean up for Mr. Buckley.  He'd freak if he saw how my room normally looked.  I hope you don't think it'll honestly look like that all the time."

"Nuh-no."  Luna answered, taken aback at Linda's completely laid back nature.  It was like a perfect mix of Jewel and Meg.  Comfortable, but not to the point of insanity.

"Don't bother being nervous around me.  Just because I go to Eden Hell doesn't mean I'm a snob like everyone else here.  Or . . .almost everyone else here."

"And I'm bloody well relieved."  Luna grinned, and plopped on her still unmade bed, beside her duffle bag, and disheveling the sheets and pillows that were piled towards the end.  She sat up again and held out her hand for the third time that day.  "I'm Luna Thorn.  Nice to meet you."

"Linda Chavez.  Pleasure."  They shook hands, and Luna felt somehow connected to her roommate.  She had a firm handshake, not pathetically girlie or weak at all.  Linda, despite the preppy name, was a stubborn, strong individual.  Luna immediately took a liking to her.

"So, what is it that you Eden Hellers actually do after classes?"  Luna questioned.

"Homework."  Luna grinned.  "And in the once in a million years that we don't have it, or the more common option of skipping it all together, we either go watch the hockey teams make fools of themselves or we drive into town. Unfortunately, I don't have a car.  You?"

"Yeah right, my parents wouldn't buy me anything worth more than twenty five bucks."

"What about all this great stuff?"  Linda waved around at all of Luna's decorations.  "Or the computer?"

"I bought the computer myself, at the esteemed job of working at a McDonalds."  Luna answered.  "Where they all decidedly called me by my real name, which will go unmentioned in this conversation.  And ninety-nine point eight percent of everything else came from my friends back home.  I bought maybe two things myself.  I couldn't bring everything, so I'm sure either my parents threw it away or stuffed it into an unmarked box and left it all to rot in the attic.  They weren't exactly supportive of my fascination."

"Sorry."  Linda said sympathetically.  "I'm glad to say that I don't have a chance to feel the same.  Not that I've got it much better.  At least your parents don't approve of your interests.  I'd bet a million dollars that mine don't even know what my interests are."

"Ouch.  Beat this.  Have your parents ever tried, honestly, to get a friend's parents to trade with you for a week?  When your dad's boss was coming for several business dinners."  Both girls burst into giggles.

"Nah, my parents wouldn't ever even figure out where my room was, much less try to get me out of it."  Linda shrugged.  "They'd just make the maid pose, or something."

"No!"  Luna answered disbelieving, sounding absolutely scandalized.

"Yes, and she's older than my mother!  And Asian!"  That remark was too much for the both of them, and they dissolved into giggles until tears were streaming down their cheeks.

"That's both horrible and hysterical."  Luna said finally, when they had both calmed down a little bit, and Linda, breathless, nodded back.  "I'm so glad you're normal."

"Uhm . . .thanks."  Linda answered, sitting up, and pulling her backpack up off the floor, and onto her bed, where she was previously sprawled.  "I think.  Well, it may well be your first day, but I've got homework to do."

"I give you my deepest sympathies."  Luna answered with a solemn nod.  Linda giggled again at that, and then pulled out her English textbook, which was about three inches thick.  "Ouch, again.  So, what're you working on?  I'm a reading buff, maybe I can help out."

"It's an excerpt from T.S. Elliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats."  Linda replied, and Luna eagerly took the book from Linda.  She skimmed over the piece before her for a couple seconds, and then recited.

"The naming of cats is a difficult matter, it isn't just one of your holiday games . . .I love these poems.  What do you have to do?"

"Memorize it.  And that simply something I suck at."  Linda answered, and Luna again nodded sagely.

"Have you tried watching the movie?  That's what I did a couple years ago."  Luna questioned, and began rummaging through her second shoulder bag.  She pulled out a copy of Cats on DVD.  "Knock yourself out, kid."

"If I knew you, I'd say I love you."  Linda joked, eagerly took the proffered movie and rushed to her computer to take advantage of the opportunity.  Luna chuckled again, and took a seat at her own computer, and then began typing madly on another of her works.

"If I knew you, I'd either be very afraid or oddly complimented."  Luna and Linda enjoyed the verbal spar for a few seconds more, until Cats was being played, with a face made from the heavy-metal preferring Linda, and harmonizing with it from Luna.  "Hey, before you turn it off, lemme hear the Pekes and the Pollicles.  It's my favourite."

"Sure."

***

"Rise and shine!"  Linda grinned down at her roommate, who was most decidedly not a morning person.  Luna's arm shot out, and gripped Linda by her blouse, and pulled her down until their faces were only a few inches away from one another.  Linda gasped in surprise at the sudden movement.  Luna cracked a bottle green eye open to a slit.

"Die, Mary Sunshine."  She hissed.  "It had damn well better be five minutes until class starts, or I will kill you."  A cerulean blue eye joined its mate in opening.

"Did you know your eyes are two different colours?"  Linda asked brightly.  Luna sighed grandly.

"I hate you."

"Thanks.  Now get up."  Linda replied, and pulled back from Luna's grip, forcing Luna to sit up and hiss again at the morning sun.  "It's not so bad.  I figured you might want breakfast.  Besides, I can introduce you to people."

"People suck."  Luna reported, but stood and then re-made her bed, mainly from habit.  She turned to remove her clothes from her dresser, but suddenly remembered that she didn't have a dresser, and then headed to the shared closet that barely held both her and Linda's clothing.  She pulled out a long-sleeved dark purple leotard that had light purple flames at her wrists that snaked up her arms.  Unabashedly, she began changing with Linda in the room.

Linda didn't seem to care one way or the other, but when the familiar sound of a doorknob turning reached her ears, she dived towards the door, slamming it shut again, then locking it firmly.  "In a minute!"  She called out, blushing lightly.  Luna turned to Linda and couldn't hold back a shout of laughter at the look on the other's girls face.  She pulled on a pair of black and purple cargo pants and then easily slipped on a number of necklaces, while Linda, still blushing, but now scowling, opened the door.

"Hi Charlie."  Linda greeted in a tone so perky Luna felt like throttling her.

Obviously, Charlie was as much against mornings as Luna.  "Hey Lin'."  He greeted and kissed her as he slipped into the room.  "What was with the door-locking escapade?"

"I was rather naked."  Luna answered for her roommate, and Charlie then noticed her.  

"Oh."  A dark blush stained Charlie's face, and Luna burst out laughing again.  "Sorry."  Luna shrugged.

"I thought it was funny, really."

"Uh-huh."  He answered, with a look to Linda, firmly declaring that her roommate was a nutcase.

***

"It's seven o' five."  Luna repeated for the seventh time since they'd reached the cafeteria.  "Charles.  I'm going to throttle your girlfriend."

"Don't call me Charles.  It's Charlie."  The sandy-haired captain answered, frowning deeply.  Linda elbowed him for not sticking up for her, but he shrugged.  "She's right.  It's seven o' five.  I know why I'm up.  I know why you're up.  Why is she up?  Besides, she's scary."

"Hey!"  Luna scowled indignantly, swatting at him with a be-ringed hand, while he easily stepped out of the way. 

"What?"  Charlie answered.  "You are scary.  You wear scary rings and necklaces, and that skin-tight thing that has to be like a thousand degrees, and you've got two different coloured eyes.  That's weird.  Sorry to tell you."  Charlie answered, and Luna poked him firmly in the side.

"Meanie."  Luna answered, and Linda giggled at the amazing insult that her new roommate managed against her boyfriend.  "I'm not kidding.  Sometimes the truth sounds like a three-year-old said it.  He's a meanie.  And at least I didn't say 'meanie-head', 'cause then I'd have to disown myself, and that's when it gets pathetic."  Luna shrugged, and fell into the breakfast line with the other two beside her.  "Oh, well.  What poison do they feed us here, or do we get to pick our own poison here?"

"We get to pick."  Charlie answered almost jovially, sounding so fake in his excitement that Luna and Lind shared a look and exploded into giggles that Charlie appeared baffled at, causing the girls to laugh even harder.  They were clutching each other, trying to breath when the rest of the JV hockey team joined them.  

"Whadja to 'em Spazway?"  Asked one of them.

"I did nothing!  I'm innocent!"  Charlie declared loudly to them.  "I was framed!"  Luna actually slipped down and fell to the ground at Linda's feet, still giggling.  "Look!  They're doing it to themselves!  They're crazy!"

"I am so not crazy.  I'm insane.  Get it right 'Spazzy-dear.'"  Luna shot upwards between her giggles.  "Hey!  Lookie, it's Dean!"  Portman looked down at her, caught between laughing and being more confused than he'd yet been in his life, not that all of the other ducks weren't.  He was just the only one that Luna knew.

Portman offered her a hand and pulled her up much like he'd done the day before, without help from her and it was done remarkably easily.  "You seem to be on the ground a lot, don't you?"  Luna grinned back, and mentally agreed, dusting herself off.  

"It does seem to be a problem."  Luna sighed.  "So, awkward silence, now."  Luna noted it so casually; it seemed to wake most everyone up.  "I'm Luna Thorn, and I'm firmly becoming a believer that all jocks travel in packs or are known by their last name and little else, except for our exception thus far:  Charlie.  And that's only 'cause he's the captain, as if anyone in the universe didn't know.  If you hooked that badge up with some fairy lights or something and we plugged you in, maybe a few more people would notice."

Most everyone chuckled nervously at Luna's open jest at their captain, unsure whether or not Charlie was insulted.  He didn't seem to be, so no one really did anything.  "Oh, right, sorry."  Luna mumbled.  "Must be sane before the newbies.  Dean.  Carry me."  Luna ordered the tall enforcer.  He looked shocked enough for Luna to expand.  "I shouldn't be conscious at this hour.  I'm not gonna be walking around until I have to."

Dean cocked an eyebrow at her, bewildered.  "Portman, in my day long experience with her, it seems much smarter to just do what she says."

"Damn straight."  Luna mumbled, her adrenaline began failing her.  "Evil new places.  Always make me hyper.  Even when I should be passed out.  I'm going back to bed.  Linda.  You may wake me up when, and only when, classes are about to start.  Um.  I'm scaring people."  Luna yawned.  

"Don't go back to bed."  Linda answered.  "You're so much fun to torture."  Luna giggled slightly, and some of the ducks exchanged glances about Linda's playful attitude, which they weren't really accustomed to.

"No.  I'm freaking people out, and I'm bloody tired."  Luna answered, stretching.  

"You might as well eat first, the line'll be super long later."  Luna was surprised to find that the first to speak was the one who'd first addressed Charlie as 'Spazway'.  Someone she didn't know.  "I'm Averman, by the way."

"Lemme guess.  Last name?"  Luna snorted, and he nodded.  "What's your first name?"

"Lester."  Averman scowled, daring her to say anything.

"Okay, then."  Luna simply replied.  "Les.  Cool.  So, we've got Dean, Les, Linda, and Charlie, what're the rest of your names?"

"That's Greg, Fulton, Connie, Guy, Julie, Ken, Dwayne, Russ, Luis, and Adam."  Charlie pointed to each of them in turn.  Most of them nodded in reply, while Guy, Ken, and Luis all appeared asleep on their feet and slightly groaned on their introduction.

"Wow.  Such articulate people."  Luna rolled her eyes.  "I'm astounded."

"And you rightfully should be."  The tall preppy one, Adam, replied.  "We are quite . . .well spoken for a group of hockey players.  We like to look at it this way.  We have to be inarticulate and dead on our feet in the morning, but we do get to keep all of our teeth in return.  How's that for fair?"

"You're not doing too badly then. So long as all of your molars remain intact."  Luna finally answered in an approving tone, and they shared a smile while the team shuffled into the semblance of a single file line.  "So, where am I supposed to get my schedule?  I hope it wasn't supposed to be from the principal.  I kinda ran out of there as quickly as humanly possible.  I got freaked when he started addressing the student body in the likeness of an ant farm."

"Actually, no."  Linda answered.  "All he was supposed to give you was your homeroom, and that should be on that map he gave you."

"That's still in our room."  Luna answered.  "I guess I'll get it after we eat, then."  

"Do you know what you're in yet?"  Portman spoke up again.

"Urgh.  Answering that requires thinking.  I think I'll pass."  Luna answered and shuffled forward a few feet with the line.  "I've got no idea.  I'm sure that my parents insisted on something that I'll hate."

"What's with the leotard?"  Ken asked, seeming to wake up a bit.  Luna looked down over what she was wearing and then looked Ken in the eye.

"I know you."  She said, instead of answered.  "From somewhere.  Where do I know you from?"  As if he had any idea.  Ken shrugged and Luna kept studying him.  "That's gonna drive me crazy."

"We were all in the Goodwill Games."  Charlie put in helpfully.  Luna shook her head, she knew that the Goodwill Games were the Junior Olympics, but she'd no idea who played in them or when, and she definitely didn't watch any hockey on it.

"I was in the Olympics a while back."  Ken added, brushing hair from his eyes.  Luna chewed on her lower lip, a habit that she'd never been able to rid herself of.  She always did that when she was thinking.  Nodding cautiously a moment later, it seemed a reasonable enough explanation.  Her mother always watched the Winter Olympics.  It was plausible, if not the right answer period.

"That must be it.  I'm guessing you were in for skating?"  Ken nodded, seemed to be surprised at her correct guess, but Luna didn't notice as she stepped forward a few feet in the line.

"How'dja know?"  He asked a moment later.

"'Cause you're a skater."  Luna answered, as if it were obvious.  "You're not a hockey player.  No offense or anything.  You're a skater."  Ken did take on an offended look, but he got over it and shrugged.  "Ooh, look.  Richard.  Heya Richard!"  She waved across the room to Riley, who waved back, despite the fact that she was with the ducks.

"You know Riley?"  Russ asked incredulously, "And you're talking to us?"

"Why wouldn't I?  Richard helped me find my room yesterday.  He's nice enough"

"I should hope I am."  Riley said, walking up to the group.  "And the lesbian rebel shows her face."

"Oh, quiet you."  Luna answered, and poked Riley in the side.  He grinned at her and at the entrance of Cole and Scott, he jogged over to his friends.   "He's a weirdo.  So, Duck people.  Are there any non-jocks in this whole school then?"

"Of course not."  Charlie answered.  "I can't believe that Riley came over here and that everyone is unharmed.  That's weird."  Luna didn't say anything, and a more comfortable silence than the last settled over them.  A moment later, Luna fell, unconscious, into Portman, who unsteadily caught her.

"What just happened?"  He asked, shifting her weight.  "I guess I should take her to the nurse."  

"I'll come, then.  I'm not hungry anyway."  Ken shrugged and both of them headed off towards the nurses office.

***

"There's nothing wrong with her at all."  The nurse, Ms. Tarnowski, reported chuckling.  "She's asleep."  Luna lay on the plastic bed-thing, wrinkling the paper there beyond measure, sleeping.

"That was the single weirdest thing that I've ever seen."  Portman reported.  "She was just talking to us.  We were quiet for a minute, and she just fell over."  Ken nodded his agreement.

"Well, there's nothing to do to her, really, except for wake her up.  Who wants the honours?  Or should I just do it?"  Ms. Tarnowski questioned.

"I'm not crazy."  Ken spoke up, backing away.

"I'll do it."  Portman spoke up, with a resigned look about him.  Gently he sat her upright, she groaned slightly, and then he shook her.  Her eyes cracked open slightly.  "Did you know your eyes are two different colours?"  He questioned.

"Argh."  Luna answered and then she glanced around.  "Where are we?  Who're you.  Oh, nevermind.  You're a nurse.   Perhaps even _the_ nurse."  She spoke with obviously phony awe.  Ms. Tarnowski chuckled and nodded.  "Well, I suppose we'd better get back to breakfast while there's still breakfast to get back to."

"You fell asleep right on your feet.  How'd you do that?"  Ken questioned.  Luna grinned at him, and then patted him on the head.  "Ah, talent then?"  He queried, and she nodded.

"Of course.  I learned that particular trick from my best friend 'Taru."  She answered. Then paused, thinking again of her best friend, whom she'd left behind.  "One I feel may fall to much practice during this school year.  If the headmaster's welcoming speech was any indication."

"It all depends on what you take."  Ken answered.  "Some classes aren't so bad.  My only advice is to avoid Mrs. Madigan if at all possible.  She is the demon that has risen from the deepest pits of hell.  Her only real joy is to cause us the most pain humanly imaginable before school's out."

"Wow.  That's pretty good!  You should write some."  Luna's voice rang with approval and Ken blushed lightly, a feat that Dean had never before seen.  He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it.  "I suppose that I should head back to my room to attempt to figure out where I'm supposed to go to figure out where I'm supposed to go."

"That makes sense."  Dean rolled his eyes, and Luna grinned.

"I thought so."

(a/n: if you think any of my other chapters are going to be anywhere near this long, you're a nutcase, but I'd like for you to review anyway.  While I'm still hanging somewhat to inspiration, I think I'm gonna try to write more.   Well, enjoy, peoples!)


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